Sharp Elite Prices - Page 2

Must be related or very lucky. They were so adamant on the price (NJ) here they even told me no discount would be coming on Black Friday, needless to say it was down 10% that day. Looks like you have to pick a day they feel like dealing. Will probably wait as it is sure to drop more than 10% around the Super Bowl. VE or Cleveland Plasma looks the best for now.

hmmm... interesting.... so now it begs the question, does one wait for the new series to come out and get it (ostensibly a better pq than the current series), but having to pay top dollar when it comes out at some undetermined time in the future (could be a long time), or wait until the new series comes out and pick up one of the current models at a discounted price... or just pick one up now and not worry about it.... ooooohhhh the conundrum. ... I think I just watch some football on my current rig and try not to obsess over it.

I had visited the local Best Buy a few times previously and got into chatting with the Magnolia salesperson there. He said they will match any sale price, local or online. Originally I was interested in the 65HX929. When the 65HX929 finally became available (though not at Best Buy), I mentioned that an authorized dealer was offering it for over 20% less than what they were selling it for ($6K). Unfortunately they didn't have stock and didn't know when they would have stock. So we got into talking about the Elite 70". At the time it was marked at $7,999, and I mentioned that other dealers are selling it for much less (which is true). I couldn't show him any link as no authorized dealers would advertise below a certain price, but he made a few calls (I'm not sure to which dealers) and we got down to a similar percentage (as the Sony) off for the Elite. I bought it and got it dropped off a couple of days later for less than $6,500 after tax. That's not even including the RewardZone credit.

This was not anywhere near so cal was it? For $6500 incl tax at BB (bc of 3 year no interest). I would buy today. Man I wish I had your luck.

Having worked at a Best Buy as a manager of several departments, I might be able to give some insight into working out a good deal (x5fd or otherwise) at one of their stores.

1. Managers are there largely to drive the revenue and margin of the store. They have incredibly detailed scorecards to compare themselves to previous months and other stores. Try speaking directly to them, letting them know you are ready to buy NOW (assuming you really are). They WANT to get big sales, making themselves and their stores look good in relation to other Best Buys.

2. Tell them who else is giving great deals on the set you want, but also let them know if the numbers work out, you would prefer to buy from them (reward zone, return policy, installation...whatever). Get them excited to make a great deal for you. If someone feels you're just making them jump through hoops to give you a number someone else will beat by $20, don't expect much.

3. Be OVERLY POLITE. I can't stress this enough. It's harder to say "no" to someone so pleasant. It's human nature. Speaking from firsthand experience, I can tell you I have intentionally not given discounts when I could have because the customer was so rude and/or ungrateful for my help.

If you know the amount you are prepared to spend, ask to speak to the manager about making a deal on your set. You might be waiting for a few minutes, but it could be time very well spent. (There's a few ways to play this, but I'm not here to write book) You could say something like: "Mr. Manager, I've been speaking with your associate Brian, and he's been a tremendous help. I understand you have the 70x5fd in stock and am ready to purchase it if the numbers work out. My budget out the door allows for $xxxx. If you can do this, you will have one very happy customer. If you can't, I understand, and I will just have to check the other local stores and Best Buys to try to stay within my budget. Can you authorize the sale now for $xxxx?"

Doing this shows him/her you're not an ungrateful jerk, you want to buy now, and hopefully they will go to bat as best as they can for you. It also is a subconscious reminder that If they don't make this $6k+ sale, there's a pretty decent chance one of their other local Best Buys will. They don't want to miss out on a big sale against someone they might be competing with for promotions within Best Buy, especially after getting first crack at it. They look good getting a big sale and look bad when losing that sale to another Best Buy. Sales managers/General managers are there to make sales and make the numbers look good. $6k+ tv sales make the numbers look good. If you plan on buying accessories and/or service plans, let them know, as it's only further motivation to make the interaction a win/win.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

Danke Mucho SM. Good advice all around.

And thank you, Choptop32.

Good advise on getting a BB deal.

The recommended word play does let the sales manager feel that he/she is in charge. This helps feed their ego, so they are more likely to cooperate than feel like they have to do battle with the customer.

A good deal is one that works for the customer and the seller. BB counts on people being willing to pay a bit more from them to get the convenience of easy returns/exchanges if problems occur. Paying them what they generally ask is nuts, without negotiation.

I'm in the Bay Area. As Sick Mother mentioned, just be nice to them, and they'll be nice to you.

What about buying the GSBTP extended service plans from MHT at BB? Any of you going to purchase those as well or just try your luck at the one/two yr. manufacturer's warranty?

I just bought over $10k worth of appliances and stuff at BB but warranties cost about 22% of it (5 yr warranties).

Crazy, I know, but one repair on any of them seems to make up for the extended warranty cost.

Thoughts?

I purchased all of my appliances from Sears and bought their extended warranties. Long story short, they don't make things like they used to and I've had them replace the "heating ring?" on my dishwasher, a pilot on my stove and the compressor cover on my fridge.

What's nice about the BBY warranties on appliances is they give you things like food spoilage and laundry allowances, I just did not want to wait three weeks for my appliances as we were moving into a new house and needed to ... cook and put our food in a fridge.

For TVs, check out the SquareTrade deal at Costco.

Hope this allowed in the forum. Is $4600 before taxes on a 60 inch a good deal for NorCal?

Yup you can do better. Ad the 70" is getting better all the time.

Still on the fence myself. And unfortunately with the Panny 65VT30 practically being given away (shockingly low prices) it's tough to justify paying more than 2X for the 70" Elite even though it is both bigger and better.

I do want to go with Chris or Robert but with the panels still showing variability in quality I wanted to go brick and mortar and get local support and easy replacement. I guess I'll try to work Best Buy next.

got one $4500 out of door. needs to pay cash though.

From? Would you mind PMing me.

I'm going to wait to see what's announced at CES as well Tommy. It may well just convince me to buy the Elite right after, but at this point... CES is ... just... so... close....

Friend from work mentioned that Pioneer has a new TV, of course I was skeptical. But I was at Best Buy the other day and saw this 70" LCD that has the Elite logo. I figured it was what my co-worker was referring to except that it's a SHARP! I thought that was sacriligious to brand a Sharp TV with the Elite emblem. But the picture quality was the best I've ever seen for an LCD and may have been equal to the Pioneer Kuro (can't tell without a side by side comparison). This baby is beautiful! I believe it was selling for $6000.

So I did some research on the internet and found out that Pioneer collaborated with Sharp on this LCD. Sharp worked on the hardware while Pioneer worked on the video processing. Pioneer were in the works to make LCDs c/o Sharp back before they went out of the Plasma business so this maybe the culmination of that collaboration. Took them 3 years to finally come up with the best LCD....no...the best TV. LCD has finally caught up with plasma and may even have surpassed it. I checked out the HDTV shootout done by Value Electronics to see how it fared. Sure enough, it beat the competition. Won in almost every category but it's interesting that it fared the lowest in color accuracy. It's so unlikely that the best TV of 2011 came from a has been brand.

I just wish that they compared it also to the legendary Kuro KRP-500M (the one that got away!) which is still considered by many as the best TV to date. Now that the Sharp Elite is out, are we going to see a Panasonic Kuro in 2012?

would you mind PMing me the contact info? I've been to 3 different BB's, talked ad nausea with the sales managers and GM's, and the best I've gotten is around $6600, which is more than Chris @cleveland.

$6k from BB would be a price I could definitely jump on. THanks in advance

I paid 6500 at BB and got a deal on a B&W soundbar. For me, the no hassle return and being able to deal with any issues locally go a long way, not to mention I took advantage of financing (3 years) and rewards back. Like my father taught me long ago, if someone is willing to lend you money for free so that you can keep your money making more money, is something I have followed and will continue to do so.

oh I agree 100%, but then again $6000 vs $6600 is a good difference to use that "free" $600...

LOL! Don't disagree. I didn't have a tv as my son broke our 151 so waiting it out wasn't an option.

I was at best buy for something else and wanted to see how their best price would stand up.

Well, I ended up buying the 70" from them. Got them down to $6050 before taxes. Plus 4% reward credits on that. Their extended warranty will even cover dead pixels. It wasnt very hard to negotiate, actually the above advise was very salient...

any body find a good price for the elite 60 inch.. and chevy did make a zl1 vette in 1969.
if i knew back in the spring about the elite i would have waited to get the 60 inch

Wow. $6000 for a 70 inch Elite is far lower than I've been able to find anywhere else.